.png)
Founded by Dr. Svetlana Masgutova, Denis Masgutov, and Pamela Curlee in 2014, The Masgutova Foundation relaunched in 2020 to provide a beacon of hope to all those seeking NeuroReflex, Neurodevelopment, and Neuromodulation assistance as well as those wishing to deepen their education and knowledge in neurodevelopmental sciences. We invite you to join, learn, have fun, and make a difference in growing the best future of our world and all humans through a non-invasive and results-driven approach.
.png)
OUR FOUNDERS
Svetlana Masgutova, Ph.D.
Founder and Emeritus Director, Board of Directors, The Masgutova Foundation
​
“A Human Life in any state of physical or mental health is of the highest value in this world.”
- Svetlana Masgutova, PhD.
Dr. Svetlana Masgutova’s method of NeuroReflex Integration is credited with its earliest formation in 1989, although she knew from a young age that her lifelong purpose would be to serve those in need and those who are suffering. After serving as a volunteer first-responder psychologist for 16-hour days, four months straight, to help children who had been badly burned and traumatized as a result of a railway accident in 1989 in the Soviet Union, Dr. Masgutova realized how the effect of movement-oriented therapy and what she would later identify as MNRI® / The Masgutova Method® helped the children heal psychologically, emotionally, and physically. This pivotal time in her life marked the essence of her lifelong mission of providing humanitarian work all over the world.
Since then, Dr. Masgutova’s method of NeuroReflex Integration has changed the lives of more than 38,000 children and adults by supporting neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, trauma recovery, stress resilience, and immune health through reflex integration techniques, exercises and programs developed by Dr. Masgutova, her late, son, Denis. The results of her evidence-based, research-driven method are life-changing, supported by an extensive bank of scientific data showing positive neuromodulation changes among individuals with challenges in learning and development. Her work focuses on the concepts of reflex integration processes to facilitate sensory processing, motor-physical and sensory-motor rehabilitation, emotional and post-trauma recovery, as well as learning and neurodevelopmental enrichment.
​
As Creator and active Founder of the Svetlana Masgutova Educational Institute for Neuro-Sensory-Motor and Reflex Integration, LLC ®, Dr. Masgutova has spearheaded the growth of a global organization that has conducted more than 200 MNRI® International Family Conferences and clinics for children and adults with neurodeficits, and learning challenges. The organization currently has nearly 350 Cores-in-Training, 145 Core Specialists, and 47 instructors worldwide.
​
The dream of Dr. Masgutova and Denis to open a higher education institution that would provide a master’s degree (with hopes of Ph.D) in neurodevelopment was realized in 2020, with the opening of The Masgutova Graduate School of Neurodevelopmental Sciences (MGS) .
During this same year, Dr. Masgutova founded the Masgutova Integrative NeuroDevelopmental Sciences Group (MINDS Group). She quickly propelled the activity of a group of core MNRI® professionals and guest experts who provide lectures on the latest advancements and applications of neurodevelopment and MNRI® to developmental specialists, scientists, doctors, and parents located all over the world.
Dr. Masgutova has worked as a lecturer at various universities in Russia and Poland, and as a scientific researcher at the Russian Educational Academy. She received a post-graduate degree in Clinical Neuro-Speech Development at the Medical University in Poland. She has authored more than 200 published works on NeuroReflex Integration, neurodevelopment, psychology, education, and sensorimotor-based development, and is actively leading continued scientific research into the effect of NeuroReflex Integration on individuals with various diagnoses and challenges.
Ever committed to her lifelong goal of helping others, Dr. Masgutova in 2014 pioneered the creation of a not-for-profit organization that was intended to serve those in need, provide advanced education (master’s degree and PhD level) in neurodevelopment and NeuroReflex Integration, and to support ongoing objective brain or neurophysiological research.
The Masgutova Foundation is the realization of this dream and legacy.
​
She is a grandmother of a great growing teenager - Janek, who was helping her with his pictures and videos of techniques and creating some exercises for MNRI® Dyslexia Class.
​
.png)
Denis Masgutov
“Set a goal, move forward, reach it. This is the meaning of Life.”
- Denis Masgutov, MA (1983-2016)
Denis Masgutov had a voracious interest and passion for developing the MNRI® / The Masgutova Method® since he was 9 years old. Much like his mother, developmental professionals and families describe Denis as “extraordinarily gifted” and a “master” at working with individuals with neurodevelopmental challenges, stress or trauma, irrespective of their dysfunction or severity of pathology. Developmental specialists, children and their parents loved Denis.
As Co-Founder of the International Dr. Svetlana Masgutova Institute in Poland and International Specialist of The Masgutova Method, Denis was instrumental in the growth of the global organization and the development of techniques and programs. He was the principal organizer of the International Rehabilitation Camps for children with neurodeficits in Poland and the PT and OT specialist education program in MNRI®.
In Poland, he used EMG/BTS equipment to obtain objective data on the correlation of reflex integration progress with neurostructural changes in more than 300 children with Cerebral Palsy Disorder and Autism. Through this research, Denis developed a deeper understanding of many practical techniques for working with stress, the withdrawal response, and breathing reflex patterns.
Denis had a degree in General Psychology and Psychology of Developmental Pathology/ Defectology (Russia), and was certified in massage therapy (Russia).
Denis had a deep commitment to furthering the pursuit of knowledge and building the growth and expansion of the MNRI® / The Masgutova Method® to reach each and every person. The opening of the Masgutova Graduate School of Neurodevelopmental Sciences is the realization of one of his many goals. Continuing to provide scientific research and helping children in need were among his other main goals in his life.
Pamela Curlee
Founder and Emeritus Board of Directors, The Masgutova Foundation
​
“Simple is Profound.”
- Pamela Curlee
Pamela Curlee was introduced to MNRI® in 1994 at a conference on learning and movement. A faculty member of the International Educational Kinesiology Foundation, Pamela was intrigued while listening to Dr. Svetlana Masgutova lecture about the effect of movement-oriented therapy and her Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration - MNRI® method on children who were traumatized by various manmade and natural disasters. From then on, their professional and personal relationship took root.
Pamela dedicated subsequent years to receiving intense hands-on training and learning the theory of MNRI®, (more than 10,000 hours of classwork, training and teaching, between 2003-2020). She recognized the value of the Method after having seen firsthand the positive neurodevelopmental changes in children and adults at a family conference in Poland in June 2004. Pamela knew that the MNRI® / Masgutova Method® needed to expand to the United States and throughout the world.
As Co-Founder of the Svetlana Masgutova Educational Institute for Neuro-Sensory-Motor and Reflex Integration, LLC ®, Pamela has a foundational role in the expansion of the MNRI® / Masgutova Method®, which has grown to provide conferences, course instruction, and application in more than 40 countries worldwide. She has worked at and has administered about 100 MNRI® Family Conferences around the world.
​
As Educational Director of SMEI, Pamela has helped instruct and oversee the growth and development of the MNRI® Core Specialist Certification program and MNRI® Instructor Program, with nearly 150 individuals from multiple professional backgrounds and disciplines now certified as MNRI® Core Specialists, and another 323 individuals enrolled in the MNRI® Core-In-Training program. Many of the courses offered through SMEI earn continuing education credits, having met the rigorous continuing education standards of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). An active International MNRI® instructor herself, Pamela has taught about 2,000 hours to more than 5,000 students, and has provided more than 5,000 hours of hands-on practical work with MNRI®.
She has served as a Faculty Chairperson and Board of Directors member for Educational Kinesiology Foundation in the 1990s. She holds a bachelor of science in speech pathology and audiology from Colorado State University and earned a post-graduate studies in deaf education and teaching certificate from University of Texas.
Pamela and Dr. Masgutova co-authored a book, Trauma Recovery – You Are A Winner, describing Dr. Masgutova’s discovery of how reflex integration and specialized movements assisted children recovering from shock and pain of a railway explosion unveiled the winner from within. This book is a free download on www.MasgutovaMethod.com It is the amazing story of Dr. Masgutova’s dedication to discovering “The Missing Link” of how to awaken the body’s wisdom and natural intelligence to open the pathway to the field of all possibilities, using clear and reproducible steps.
Dr. Masgutova and Pamela worked on setting up the frame work for the Svetlana Masgutova Educational Institute for four years before establishing the SMEI, LLC officially in Sept 2007. The Masgutova Foundation was founded by Dr. Masgutova, Denis, and Pamela in 2014.
​
She is the grandmother of three beautiful granddaughters, who started their MNRI® training with great motivation.